The Secret of Moonacre II
by It's all in my head
Summary: Maria gets to see her family when her endeavors in the sea are over but, do we know for sure that we know all of her family? Do we really know the life of Maria Merryweather before Moonacre? ***Disclaimer: I do not own The Secret of Moonacre, The Little White Horse or any of its contents.***
1. Chapter 1

"Well," says Maria, "I guess it's ov-" Maria stutters before collapsing.

"Maria!" "Maria!" "Mari-" "Mar-"

 **2 DAYS LATER**

Robin and his Father enter the Merryweather mansion and is greeted by Sir Benjamin, Loveday, and Digweed.

"How is she?" asks Robin. Sir Benjamin leads them upstairs to Maria's room. When they enter Maria is lying in bed with Wrolf by her side. "When do you think she'll wake up?" he asks as he crouches next to her bed.

"I'm not sure." Sir benjamin says with a sorrowful and worried tone.

"It's already been two days. Poor girl." says lord de Noir. Robin pushes her hair behind her ear and grabs her hand. Ms. Heliotrope enters the room.

"Uh, Sir Benjamin, is it alright if I invite someone to visit Maria?"

"A family member?" asks Sir Benjamin.

"Yes sir"

"Well, alright." he says after a moment of hesitation. Ms. Heliotrope leaves the room. Sir Benjamin turns to Digweed.

"Do you know of any other Merryweathers Digweed?"

"Why, no sir." Digweed replies. Sir benjamin nods his head deep in thought. Robin continues to stare at Maria with a sorrowful face.

"Please wake up soon." he whispers. Seconds later he felt a slight squeeze of his hand. "Maria…?" he says weakly. Maria's eyelids begin to flutter and slowly her eyes open. The room is silent as everyone stands in anticipation. Maria turns to Robin.

"Robin" she says weakly with a sweet voice and smile.

"MARIA!" everyone exclaimed as Sir Benjamin and Loveday rush to Maria and shower her with hugs and kisses knocking Robin out of the way.

"Oh, dear Maria, you're awake!" exclaimed Loveday. Maria begins to look around her, and at herself.

"How did I get here?" she asked turning to Robin.

"You collapsed after what happened at the cliff." says Loveday before Robin can respond.

"We brought you here afterward." Robin said. Maria's brow wrinkled as she struggled to remember the events of that night. Maria remembered rising from the sea on the back of the Moon Princess's unicorn, hugging everyone, watching Loveday hit Robin, Ms. Heliotrope beating the rogue de Noir with her umbrella and her uncle and Lord de Noir making peace. Everything is black after that point.

"How long have I been asleep?" Maria asks turning back to Robin. After a moment of hesitation.

"... Two days."

The room falls into a deep silence as Maria attempts to process what he had told her.

"Well," starts Digweed, "we are certainly glad you are awake miss. I have sent for Marmaduke to bring you something to eat."

"Thank you Digweed" Maria says gratefully. Digweed gives her a bow and leaves the room.

"That was a very brave thing you did back there Miss Merryweather." says Lord de Noir.

"Yes, but also very reckless." Sir Benjamin says firmly before Maria can thank Lord de Noir for his praise. With this statement, Maria looks down in shame. "But," he starts. Maria looks up at him with anticipation. "You did good Maria."

"You saved us all." exclaimes Lord de Noir. Maria flashes a great big smile.

"Knock! Knock!" a familiar voice says from behind her bedroom door. When the door is opened Marmaduke appears holding a tray of Star-gazer pie.

"Your famous Star-gazer pie!" Maria exclaimed as she took the tray. "You shouldn't have." Everyone sat back and watched as Maria wolfed down her pie. Maria looked up from her pie into all of the staring faces. "What?"

"We're just glad to see you back to your old self again Miss." says Digweed happily.

"What happens now?" asks Maria questioningly. Everyone looks around at one another uncertain of the answer. What is there to do after centuries of feuding?

"What happens now is that you get some more rest. We'll check in on you later on Princess." says Marmaduke lightly.

"Alright". Loveday kisses Maria in the forehead before she stands and leaves the room. Sir Benjamin gives her a big hug before leaving himself. Lord de Noir nods his head at her her before exiting the room.

"Have a nice rest Miss" says Digweed and with that he and Marmaduke leave the room. Robin turns to follow them.

"Robin, wait!" she exclaims as she grabs the sleeve of his jacket. Robin stops and turns to look at her.

"What is it Princess?" he asks. She hesitates before answering.

"I - I wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"Helping me. Believing in me." she says shyly. Robin looks down at where Maria is clutching his sleeve and looks at her. She quickly drops her hand.

"It was no big deal." he said matter-of-factly.

"It _is_!" she says, "We saved the Valley!" she exclaimed, with a light in her voice.

"No," he said crouching down beside her, "youdid that! You brought the families back together! Youended the curse! You jumped off a cliff to save us! _We_ should be thanking _you_!" Robin says so sincerely that it surprises the both of them. Maria smiles and a trace of a blush lines her cheeks. She leans down and kisses Robin on the cheek. Robin looks up at her and they sit there and stare into each other's eyes. They both look away to hide the blush now obvious on their faces. The room was silent. Robin swiftly stands and turns for the door.

"I should go…" he says. "Bye" and before Maria could say anything he leaves the room closing the door behind him. And just like that, Maria was alone.

"... Bye"


	2. Chapter 2

**The Next Morning. . .**

Maria awoke to the feeling of the warm morning light cascading across her face and the smell of Marmaduke's biscuits. Maria leaned over, grabbed a biscuit and proceeded to prepare herself for the day. When she walked over and opened her wardrobe she found a dress not of her own. It was a gorgeous gown made much like her Moon Princess dress but of a lilac color with black Begonia flowers embroidered from the bottom side of the skirt rising like petals in the wind to trace the neckline. One particular detail she recognized was an "M" embroidered on the cuff of the left sleeve. Maria smiles and puts on the dress.

"Good morning" Maria says as she joins her family at the dining table for more of Marmaduke's delicious cooking.

"Oh, it's so good to see you up and about my dear" says Miss. Heliotrope. "And you look absolutely stunning in that dress, wherever did you get it?"

"Loveday made it for me. Thank you for the new dress Loveday, I love it!" says Maria with a smile.

"You are most certainly welcome Moon Princess!" Loveday says with a chuckle. Being reminded of her identity as the Valley's princess begged a question that has been bothering her since she had woken up.

"Uncle?"

"Yes Maria."

"Do you know anything about the terms that the Merryweathers and the de Noirs stand on?" Before Sir Benjamin could reply, Loveday turned to Maria with a mysterious grin.

"Well considering Robin has been constantly appearing on our doorstep to check on you, I'd say we're on good terms." Maria blushed slightly at the comment. Certainly she's only jesting.

"Uncle, now that I'm better can I go outside for a walk?"

"I think it best that you not my dear." Miss. Heliotrope interjected.

"I see no problem with it."

"B-b-but S-s-sir Benjamin I-"

"But," he said turning from Miss. Heliotrope to Maria, "you must stay _within_ the garden grounds. Bring Wrolf with you as well."

"Yes Uncle." Maria yells after him as she and Wrolf run towards the front door. Maria heard the trailing of Miss. Heliotrope's lecture about running.

Once Maria reached the front stairs she inhaled the smell of Mother Nature's gift of green grass and wildflowers.

She sprinted off the stairs into the garden. She ran as fast as she could turning a corner she runs into a wall. . . of a de Noir.

"Maria are you-" Maria sat on the ground staring up at Robin who stood above her, just staring at her.

". . . Robin?"


	3. Chapter 3

***Dear readers, I am SOOOOO sorry for not posting the next chapter for SOOOOOO long but, I'm new to this site and am still trying to figure out how to use it. On top of that, I have school. But, I promise to update as much as I can.

*P. S- thank you so much to my cousin Joe for helping me choose the title for this chapter! Enjoy!

 **The Princess, the Robin, and the Lion**

Robin couldn't speak. Looking down at Maria, Robin found that the dress she was wearing was one he had never seen her wear before. The lilac colored dress complemented the paleness of her skin. The black flowers on the dress looks like a detail that a de Noir girl would wear, not a Merryweather.

 **FLASHBACK**

 **Yesterday**

" _Is Maria awake yet?" asked Robin to Loveday._

" _No, she isn't." she said to her little brother._

 _Robin stalked off disappointed. He was looking forward to talking to Maria. He wanted to let her know just how mad he was for sacrificing herself like she did at the amphitheatre that night. He wanted to scream and yell at her for worrying him the way she did. He just has to do it without letting her know. Loveday noticed the change in his attitude and decided to test her limits._

" _You know Robin, if I didn't know any better I'd say that you harbor feelings for a particular princess of the moon." she said wistfully. Robin stopped dead in his tracks._

" _Well I don't." he said walking out briskly to avoid meeting Loveday's eyes and letting her see the blush on his face._

 **END**

"Damn you Loveday." he mumbled.

"What?" asked Maria for Robin did not know that he had spoken aloud.

"Nothing. What are you doing out here Princess?"

"Princess?" Maria said quizzically with a quirky smile. Maria stood to face Robin but even standing he was still a full head taller than she.

Robin stood foolishly. "If you don't mind the name?"

"No, I don't mind." she replied with a light laugh. "Answer me this Birdboy."

" _Birdboy_?!" Robin exclaimed confused.

"Yes, _Birdboy_! Do you not see the feathers around your own neck _Robin_ de Noir?" Maria laughed. Robin stood there without an answer he wanted to tell her to shove off but found that her smile paralyzed him.

"Yes, I do believe I know my own name and what fashion I clothe myself with." he said pridefully. Maria burst into laughter. "What?"

"Nothing. Well since you're here I want to take a walk and I want to speak with you." she said while turning on her heels. Robin felt the rumble of a slight growl from beside him and looked down to see Wrolf the huge, gigantic, ferocious, _de_ _Noir_ _hating_ _lion_ that Maria must have forgotten about.

"Ummm, what about Wrolf?" he asked trying not to let her know just how frightening the beast is to him. Wrolf helped him save Maria from his father but, he wasn't sure what terms they were on.

"What about him?"

"He's growling at me."

"HaHa, that's not _growling_ Birdboy. It's called _purring_. Its what cats do when they like someone. Have you not heard a cat purr?" she asked.

"I'm a de Noir we don't have cats, we have horses, birds, and snakes."

"Oh, well, just keep that in mind. Come on," Maria said extending her hand to Robin, "...Birdboy!"

Robin looked at her small hands. The small but strong hands that tried to throw the pearls to the sea. The small but strong hands that reached out to him. But should he take them?


	4. Chapter 4

***Sooooooo. . . about what I said about all the schoolwork I had. . . Yeah. . . I wasn't kidding. Needless to say. . . IIIII AAAAAAMMMMM SSSSOOOOOO SSSOOORRRRYYYYY ABOUT NOT UPDATING INNN SOOOO LOOOOOONG! Please forgive me!***

***Good news for all of you! I have officially graduated! Which means, that I'll have more time for you. . . THE PEOPLE! I will be finding a job soon but, I'll have a lot more time than I did before!***

 **The Grass is Greener on the Other Side**

"…Birdboy" he hears her say.

"Umm, alright." He takes her hand and she begins to lead him to the forest with Wrolf bounding on ahead.

They spent the first few minutes in a calm silence. Wrolf lumbers ahead pouncing and pawing at a butterfly. Even though the curse was broken only last night, the change between dog to lion was impossible to miss. In the past few hours, it seems like Wrolf has been letting out all the cat in him that has been trapped inside of him for centuries. Maria smiled at this.

Her smile didn't go unnoticed by Robin for he had barely taken his eyes off of her since they began their walk. "What's the smile for, Princess?" he said.

Maria looked up at him. She finds herself looking into his deep brown eyes. It takes all her might to answer him. "I was thinking about Wrolf."

"Wrolf?" he asks quizzically with a raise of his eyebrow. Maria rolled her eyes.

"Yes, WROLF" she replies with a nod of her head towards him in response. At hearing his lady say his name, Wrolf stopped playing with the butterfly and turned to her with a slight purr. Maria turned to face him and chuckled. "It's alright Wrolf, go on!" With a twitch of his tail, he bounded off into the trees after the butterfly who had escaped him when he turned to Maria. When the ball of black disappears beyond the trees Maria continues. "Wrolf has spent all these centuries as a dog when his true self was a cat. Now, he can let out all that pent-up cat." Robin looked up to where Wrolf had disappeared in the tree line. They spent several minutes in another silence. Maria snuck a look up at Robin's face, only to find his pointed at hers already. She figured this would be a good a time as any.

"I'm sorry!" Maria suddenly blurted. Robin looked at her, confused by her apology.

"What for?"

"You know," she said shyly, "the kiss. I-I-I didn't know what I was thinking." Robin looked at her, hoping his memory of the earlier night wasn't showing on his face.

"It's alright." Robin said, his voice wavering slightly. He hoped that she wouldn't notice it. "It's not something to apologize for. As your knight it is only fair that I receive a kiss from the stunning lady for my heroics." Maria stopped and gasped at his forward remark. She laughs.

"Sure. Whatever you say Birdboy." Not a second later, Wrolf comes bounding back to their sides and settles himself in between them. Robin and Maria enjoyed the walk a bit longer in silence but then suddenly, Wrolf began to growl. Okay, even with the little feline experience that Robin had, he could tell that _that_ was a growl.

"What is it boy?" Maria asked. A split second later a twig snapped but no one appeared. Maria looked cautiously at Robin and his hand went towards his dagger.

"Well if it isn't the little _witch_!" Robin and Maria turned to the voice behind them.


End file.
